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Jerusalem - Top US diplomat John Kerry on Monday said he
was pursuing a "quiet strategy" for breaking the years-long impasse
in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, warning the process could not be rushed.

Speaking to journalists after meeting Palestinian Prime Minister
Salam Fayyad and Israeli President Shimon Peres, Kerry said he was
"intensely focused" on advancing the peace process seen as
"vital" to US and regional interests.

Kerry, who is US President Barack Obama's new pointman on
the Middle East, is on a fresh mission aimed at coaxing Israel and the
Palestinians back to negotiations frozen since September 2010.

The secretary of state said he believed it "would be
irresponsible... not to explore thoroughly the possibilities for moving
forward" as he seeks to overcome decades of mistrust between Israel and
the Palestinians.

He was speaking ahead of a dinner with Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which was added to his schedule at the last
minute.

The two leaders will also meet on Tuesday for formal
talks.

Kerry arrived in Israel late on Sunday, but in a break
with tradition headed straight for the West Bank headquarters of Palestinian President
Mahmud Abbas in Ramallah - the third time the two men have met since Kerry
began his tenure.

But Washington's top diplomat said he was under no
illusion about the tough road ahead.

"I understand it is a complicated, well-trod path of
disappointments and/or moments of hope followed by breach of agreement or
process, and that mistrust is very high," Kerry said.

"I am convinced that we can break that down, but I'm
not going to do it under guidelines or time limits," he said, adding
"this process should not be rushed."

Peres also spoke of a "new sense of optimism and
hope" over the prospects of ending the decades-long conflict with the
Palestinians.

"Peace is possible," he said. "I believe
that the gaps between us and our Palestinian neighbours can be bridged and I
speak out of experience."

Nuclear threat

Speaking with Peres as his side, Kerry also sought to
reassure the Jewish state over the Iranian nuclear threat, saying Washington
was aware the clock was ticking.

He attended morning ceremonies to remember the six
million Jews who were killed during the Nazi Holocaust.

"We understand the nature of the threat of
Iran," Kerry said just before his talks with Peres.

"We will continue to seek a diplomatic solution, but
our eyes are open and we understand that the clock is moving," he said,
adding: "No option is off the table, no option will be taken off the
table."

During Kerry's meeting with Abbas, they discussed
economic development with several top aides, then held a private session at
which Kerry insisted that the specifics be kept under wraps.

Kerry was visiting Israel as an Arab ministerial
committee met on Monday in Qatar to discuss ways of reviving the stalled peace
process between the Palestinians and Israel.

The meeting of the Arab Peace Initiative Committee was
attended by Abbas, and chaired by Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister
Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani.

Abbas told Kerry the release of prisoners held by Israel
was a "top priority" for resuming peace talks, his spokesperson told
AFP.

The Palestinian leader has repeatedly made clear there
would be no return to negotiations without a settlement freeze, but he has also
made it known he would suspend for two months all efforts to seek international
recognition of a Palestinian state to give US-brokered efforts a chance.

Abbas also wants Netanyahu to present a map of the
borders of a future Palestinian state before talks can resume.

Netanyahu has said he would not accept a return to the
borders of before the 1967 Middle East war, and on Monday a high-ranking
political official told Israel's Maariv newspaper that presenting a map was out
of the question.

"It would be insane to present such a map," the
official said, adding Israel would be "giving up our most important asset,
without the Palestinians having committed themselves to anything."

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